Turned down in February, Ferndale schools ask voters to reconsider lower levy in April
Weeks after the Ferndale School District’s operations levy failed, voters are being asked to reconsider their decision.
The operations levy going before district voters in an April 28 special election will ask for the 2020 rate of $2.17 for 2021 and 2022, according to a release issued by the district on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
The levy measure needs a simple majority to pass.
The failed levy asked for a rate of $2.50 per $1,000 of a home’s assessed value for four years. Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at $375,000 would have paid about $937.50 annually.
If the $2.17 rate is approved, a person with a home assessed at $375,000 would pay about $813.75 a year starting next year. It would replace an operations levy ending this year.
“The work starts now. Voters told us that our last request wasn’t what they wanted,” said Andrew McLaurin, chair of the Ferndale School Board.
“We will work diligently to make sure that voters know that the $2.17 per $1,000 of assessed value means that we will both tighten our belts and do what is best for students,” McLaurin said. “What is best for students is that we continue to provide fantastic options in music, drama and athletics as well as counseling in schools and lower class sizes for our students.”
All seven school districts in Whatcom County asked their voters to approve four-year levies in the Feb. 11 special election.
Officials said the levies were critical to their efforts to educate children and pay for technology, and they helped bridge the gap between what the state provides for education and what it actually costs.
Ferndale’s was the only levy request to fail in Whatcom County.
